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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a grade
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mark — a trace
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. net — after costs
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. net — in sport
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. net — for catching
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com